Delivering the keynote address at the International Federation Of Air Traffic Controllers Association (IFATCA) regional meeting in Accra, the deputy Minister Of Transport Joyce Mogtari has indicated that there is going to be further decoupling of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to allow for proper management, focus and improvement in aviation services here in Ghana.
The deputy minister said that there was an ever and continuing growth in the aviation sector and states have to accommodate this kind of growth in other to render good services in the aviation industry.
“As we all continue to experience growth in the aviation industry, the issue that comes to mind is how can states accommodate this double edged growth and at the same time sustain the same level of safety as well as reduce environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions in to the atmosphere. Again the airspace that will contain this growth is static and cannot be increased in size so one can appreciate the enormous challenges that the air transport industry may face form now to 2028 and beyond”
Upon laying this foundation, the deputy minister expressed that there was going to be the need to divide further GCAA into two.
“Ghana is further pursuing plans of decoupling GCAA into Civil Aviation Authority as the independent regulator and the creation of a new entity, the Air Navigation Service Authority Provider (ANSP)”
This move will enable the new CAA to remain focused on its main function of providing oversight responsibilities over the Airport Service Provider which is the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and the ANSP.
The new entity ANSP is expected to focus on the development of Air Traffic Management (ATM) infrastructure as well as airspace concept development to ensure safety of flights in the Accra Flight Information Region (FIR) in particular and Africa as a whole, the minister said.
Mrs. Mogtari indicated that in 2006 the government of Ghana started a decoupling process and this saw the birth of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL).
“The ceding of airports management functions from the then GCAA to GACL has actually facilitated the GACL to focus on the consistent improvements of airport infrastructural developments in the country”
The deputy minister didn’t fail to highlight some developments that are taking place in our main airports after the establishment of these processes
“currently the arrival and departure halls are being expanded, new parking stands have been constructed to take more wide-bodied aircrafts, and the taxiway is being resurfaced to include rapid exits to reduce runway occupancy tie by landing aircrafts” she added that a new state of the art terminal will be completed by the end of the year at the Kotoka International Airport.
The Kotoka International Airport and in fact Ghana is being envisioned by the government of Ghana to be an aviation hub in the sub-region.
